OZ LIT PROFILE #2 - REVIEW - The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen

The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen by Deb Abela. Random House Australia. Junior fiction, Australian. Paperback rrp $14.95.

Aurelie Bonhoffen is unlike any of the other kids at school; unlike any other kid you’ve ever known. She lives with her extended family - grandmother, uncles and parents – at an amusement park, Bonhoffen’s Seaside Pier. Everything about her life is remarkable, even before her discovery of the family secret.

She sleeps in a room above the ghost train and sometimes doubles as the back end of a cow. Aurelie spends a lot of time with her unusual uncles, Rolo and Rindolf, strange companions for a girl about to turn twelve. She doesn’t fit in at school and has no friends there. But that doesn’t worry her. Aurelie is strong, independent and capable of standing up to the playground bullies.

After Aurelie’s birthday, her world starts to change. The changes are both good and bad. First she learns the secret and it’s not an easy one to live with. She then makes a friend at school, the mayor’s son. She manages to antagonize the Principal more than ever before. But worst of all, her home is under threat. The mysterious Mr Cook wants to buy the pier and redevelop it.

Aurelie’s father says no but Mr Cook doesn’t accept that answer. With the Mayor’s help, he has ways and means of making things happen. Awful things. After the Mayor’s attempts to sabotage the amusement park fail, he turns his attention to his son’s new friend, Aurelie. With the family in danger of losing her, they finally agree to sell.

But Aurelie hasn’t given up. She has her new friends to support her fight. And then, there’s the remarkable secret.

Fans of the Max Remy series will not be disappointed. Here they will find fun, adventure and a little magic. Or is it just sleight of hand? This is a wonderful book and Abela herself is the real magician.

OZ LIT PROFILE #2 - DEB ABELA

Once upon a time Deb Abela wrote for children's TV. But thousands and thousands of kids are glad that in 2001 she turned to writing books. Deb is the author of Jasper Zammit series written with Aussie soccer legend Johnny Warren, and the hugely popular Max Remy super spy series. Max Remy saw her tenth and final adventure released this year.

Deb's latest book is completely different but every bit as good. And in my opinion, even better. A review of The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen will follow tomorrow night. After you read the review, you'll wish you had a copy. Or perhaps you already wish you did. The good news is you can win a signed copy by entering the competition on Deb's website. See question 9 below.

Deb is an 'absolutely awesome' speaker (and that's a quote from a kid I know who attended one of her recent presentations). No-one I've ever heard or heard of can inspire a classroom of kids to be creative like she can. No, more than a classroom, a schoolful, no, the Sydney Town Hall full. You get the picture! She's in great demand but always has time for the her fans, even the older ones who come begging with questions in hand!

Here are the questions and Deb's answers:

1. The last children's/YA book you read (fiction or non-fiction) Broken Glass by Sally Grindley about two young Indian brothers who are forced from their home. They live on the streets and collect and sell broken glass for a living.



2. If it wasn't an Oz title, then the last Oz title The Locket of Dreams by Belinda Murrell about a young girl from Sydney who travels back in time to 1850's Scotland with the help of an old locket.



3. Name one favourite book from your childhood Professor Branestawm by Norman Hunter about a wacky professor and his inventions that always go very very wrong.



4. Name one picture book that you love for the illustrations Ah! There are so many but if I could choose one of the MANY many that I love it would be Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey. I want to eat those illustrations they look so delicious.



5. What is your personal favourite among the books you have authored/illustrated Ooooh that is too hard. When I first get an idea for a book it is very small and tiny and when I stay with it, I love watching it grow and characters coming to life and plots unfolding. So each book is very special because it is part of that magical process.



6. What book do you wish you had written - for love or money? I find each books that I love very special and clever - I rarely wish I had written it. I just enjoy savouring it.



7. If you could be a character in a book, who (or what) would you be? It'd be fun to be Max Remy or Aurelie Bonhoffen, my new character. I've always wanted to be a spy like Max Remy and to live on a seaside pier amusement park like Aurelie...even though she has that remarkable secret too.



8. Do you have a favourite quote - from a book or life in general! I guess I've always thought to live the life I want to live right now - not wait for it to come later.



9. How can readers win a signed copy of your latest book? All they have to do is go to: www.deborahabela.com On the front page is an invitation: 'Win a copy of Deb's Latest book' Click on that and you'll be able to read about The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen. To enter the comp you need to get your parents' permission if under 18 and answer this question: What do you think Aurelie's remarkable Secret could be? I'm not looking for the actual secret but the 5 most imaginative and creative answers to the question. Get thinking!!

Deb is a totally plugged in author. View the trailer for her lateest book here and visit here website here.

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Today is one of those days when nothing gets done. Not a thought in my head or a task in my diary is complete enough to constitute a post. I am reading two books at the same time - Gayle Forman's If I stay (see yesterdays post) and Pamela Rushby's When the Hip Chicks Go to War. They are very different so the dual read is working fine but I have finished either so can't talk about them.

I am writing like crazy and have 5,000 words of my new ms that I am really pleased with but there's still a lot to go - so that's probably not finished enough to be of interest to anyone either.

What I have been doing - and I guess this is why I haven't got much done! - is spending a lot of time looking at book trailers. Time well spent - all research for the one I am putting together. I've managed to create another frame and here it is.

But here is how the pros do it - presenting two of the best - whose books I just happen to have read recently (and Deb is my Oz Lit profile for this weekend so come back then and hear some more about the book and it's author):

Deb Abela and The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen

Neil Gaiman and The Graveyard Book


Enjoy! I did.

GREAT CHARACTER NAMES

At the moment I am reading The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen. I won't comment on the book as I'll be posting a review shortly. But I will say that Max Remy fans won't be disappointed. I love the title of the book and I love the cover. Aurelie Bonhoffen is such a great name. It follows of course that any girl with such a remarkable name would have a remarkable secret and story to tell. Then I started thinking about other great names. Fantasy is rich with them and some of my favourites come from Middle Earth like Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield. You can even find your own hobbit name here. Apparently I am Iris Hardbottle. I don't like that much at all! But other names I do like are Nobody 'Bod' Owens from The Graveyard Book, Voldemort in Harry Potter and Yertle the Turtle. Anyone have any other suggestions to add to the list of Great Character Names in Kid's Literature?